Day 1: Thursday, October 1 |
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| The Power of Looking Stupid Cliff Prang
Cliff Prang is a professional actor, comedian, writer & producer. He has been in love with making people laugh since birth and offers a full menu of comedy options including stand up, improv, speaking, emceeing, teaching, and auctioneering. He delivers these services to a broad spectrum of audiences at Bars, Clubs, Schools, Churches, Fundraisers, Corporate Events, Zoom & even once at a Funeral.
Cliff will kick off Impactify BC with a short presentation of jokes, stories and inspiration.
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| Busting Gaming Grant Myths Understand the Truth About Gaming Grants
Community Gaming Grants can be a valuable source of funding.This session separates fact from fiction about eligibility, applications, and reporting requirements for Community Gaming Grants Whether you're new to the grant process or looking to improve your success rate, you'll leave with the knowledge and confidence to navigate Community Gaming Grants more effectively.
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| Revenue Diversification
What's Possible for Non-Profits
Farah Nassarall
Join us for a dynamic one-hour workshop on revenue diversification for non-profits and charities. In this session, we’ll explore the shifting funding landscape and why traditional approaches alone are no longer enough to sustain and grow impact. more resilient and sustainable financial model. Whether you're just starting to explore new revenue options or looking to strengthen your current approach, this session will help you rethink what’s possible and identify practical next steps for your organization.
Farah Nazarali is the Program Facilitator for Thriving Non-Profits. She has spent most of her career in the non-profit and charitable sector, with experience across arts, media, and social and environmental organizations. Her expertise includes turning big visions into practical goals, providing accountability, and asking strategic questions that unlock new possibilities. She is also skilled in conflict resolution, helping create cohesion and alignment. At Thriving Non-Profits, she facilitates the cohort program, supporting leaders to diversify revenue and strengthen financial sustainability.
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| Advocacy 101 Melissa Caralho and Beatriz Grigsby-Larson
The Global Public Affairs team, leveraging their understanding of the mechanics and processes of government, will provide an introductory session on what advocacy is, why it’s important, and how it can be incorporated in your organization.
Melissa Carvalho is an Associate Vice President for Western Canada at Global Public Affairs, with 15 years of experience in strategic engagement, advocacy, and issues management. Drawing on her experience in the Alberta and B.C. public services, as well as government relations and stakeholder engagement, Melissa supports clients in achieving their strategic goals.
Beatriz Grigsby-Larson is a Senior Consultant at Global Public Affairs’ Vancouver office, where she provides support through client relations, research and communications. She oversees clients in the Health and Life Sciences and other practice groups and brings experience across the public, private and non-profit sectors, including research, environmental consulting, immigration and political campaigns. |
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| BCLC Connections Bingo Hour In this fun and engaging session, BCLC will lead a bingo game that encourages connection.
At the end of this session you'll know a few more people and have new networking skills you can put to use. For over 40 years, BCLC has been bringing people together through shared moments of connection, helping them feel part of something bigger than themselves. Now they’re taking their social purpose journey to the next level by striving to put human connection at the heart of everything they do.
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| Adopt Wisely AI Guidelines that Align with Your Mission Sarah Downey
Eighty percent of Canadian nonprofits are already using AI. Only ten percent have guidelines for it. If you don't have policy yet, you're not alone. Most small nonprofits don't have a legal department, an IT team or a risk manager to hand this to. What you do have is a mission and a set of values you wrote down years ago, and those are already a decision tool.
This session covers
- why this field feels so foggy right now
- how to map your mission onto what your organization is actually doing with AI,
- three pillars for judging any single use
- the Canadian legal ground that already applies to you.
You'll leave with a set of starter questions your team can work through together, the full Nonprofit AI Policy and Governance Framework which is free to use and share, and one message to send your team this week.
Sarah Downey spent 20 years inside charities, 15 of them as an Executive Director. She built the Nonprofit AI Policy and Governance Framework through direct conversations with hundreds of Canadian nonprofit leaders and was a validation partner with the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience. The framework is taught in the Responsible AI Professional certification, published by other Canadian consultancies, and shared freely so nonprofits of all budgets can have access to wise governance. She holds an Executive MBA in strategic leadership and works from Victoria, BC.
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| Thriving Non-Profits Leadership Roundtable Breakfast Overcoming the Challenges Faced by Non-Profits Today.
This session sponsored by Thriving Non-Profits, features a panel of non-profit leaders who share their insights on how non-profits can approach some of the challenges in today's rapidly changing landscape.
The panel will be followed up with guided discussions at each table. Here you can unpack the suggestions of the panel and build on the strategies -- or discuss new strategies in small groups.
The outcomes of this session will be recorded and shared after the conference. |
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| The Terms You Signed are in the Room With You AI Notetakers & other Apps With Fulcrum Law In his session you explore two important moments in AI adoption. Part 1: The Board Meeting Where Nobody Was Human (The Effect) An AI notetaker joins a board meeting nobody asked it to join. Consent, privilege, the in-camera portion being captured anyway, and an archive of verbatim transcripts waiting for discovery. Part 2: Read the Terms Before You Watch the Demo (The Cause) The terms were accepted months earlier, in four seconds, without legal review. Training licences, undisclosed sub-processors, data residency, termination, and whether “enterprise-grade security” is a representation you can rely on or simply marketing.
Kiyan Seyedi is the founder and principal lawyer at Fulcrum Law, where he brings a wealth of legal experience to his clients. Driven by a vision to disrupt traditional legal services, Kiyan aims to build a next-generation law firm that leverages technology for efficient, tailored, and accessible legal solutions. He believes in creating a legal ecosystem that breaks free from conventional and stuffy ways of practice. Katherine Negahdar is an Associate Lawyer at Fulcrum Law, where she brings a genuine, relationship-first approach and a background in civil and commercial litigation to deliver a thoughtful, trustworthy client experience. For her, law is rooted in real business and human context, not just technical rules. |
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| How to Save Time and Win More Grants Using ChatGPT Jessica Vestergaard
Discover how AI tools like ChatGPT can help streamline your grant writing process. AI can be a powerful fundraising tool when used thoughtfully and effectively. In this session, you’ll learn practical ways to use AI to draft successful grant applications, while keeping your expertise and voice at the heart of the process. Jessica Vestergaard is the founder of Written With Purpose, a grant writing practice that helps Canadian charities win more grants so they can do more good. Over the past two years, Jessica has raised nearly $5 million for programs supporting youth, seniors, women, and mental health initiatives.
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| Collaboration Across the Void Working with a Board of Directors Karen Mason-Bennett
Have you ever wondered what the heck a board does or why you never get to see yours? Understanding the role of a board of directors is integral to working collaboratively to achieve your mission and vision. Most governance sessions focus on the role of the board, but this one focuses on the perspective of the employee. From grant writing to strategic directions, this session will explore how staff responsibilities dovetail with board responsibilities to make the magic happen.
Karen Mason-Bennett is passionate about Board Governance and the health of non-profits. As a previous Executive Director and current board member for three provincial boards, her experience includes successes and challenges on both sides of a governance relationship. She has applied for millions of dollars in grants and knows the anxiety of a tight budget and unlimited dreams.
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| Understanding Financial Statements with CPA BC Financial statements tell an important story about your organization's financial health, but they can be difficult to interpret without the right knowledge. This practical workshop will demystify key financial concepts and help participants better understand income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, and financial performance. Learn how to assess how your organization is doing, understand why cash and surplus are not the same thing, and confidently ask informed questions of financial professionals. Whether you're new to nonprofit finance or looking to strengthen your financial literacy, you'll leave with valuable tools to support better decision-making. Vivien Chow is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and she currently works at the Better Business Bureau of British Columbia and Yukon as their Manager of Finance. Vivien specializes in financial reporting and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and system improvements. She strives to present financial information in a straightforward and enjoyable manner for all audiences. Throughout her career, Vivien has worked in a variety of organizations, including not-for-profits and charities like Fraser Health and Canuck Place Children's Hospice. She had served on boards of local non-profits like Gymnastics BC and the Sharing Farm Society as well |
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